Resources

Driving can present its own types of threats, so protect yourself:

• Lock your doors
• Ignore aggressive drivers
• Allow yourself enough space on the road to maneuver out of tricky situations.
• Stop at a police station if you believe that you’re being followed.

• Pepper Spray is the most effective personal safety tool for females, whether indoors or outdoors. Pepper Spray discharges a spray into the face of the attacker. It is concise, easy to handle, and can be camouflaged as a key chain or lipstick. Unfortunately, it is not legal in all states.
• Personal safety alarms are the best idea for personal safety and are legal everywhere. Safety alarms generate loud sounds to protect you from an attacker. An attacker is shocked by the sound long enough for you to escape. This tool is lightweight, easy to carry, and easy to activate.
• In the video below, Jason Hanson and Rachel Ray demonstrate what to do if someone grabs you by the hair.

• During late hours it recommended to stay in the first or middle subway car where the conductor or the motor person has a radio to alert the police if necessary.
• Use well-lighted, busy stops. If you must get off at a little-used stop, try to arrange for a friend to meet you.
• Stay alert! Don’t doze or space out as this can set you up for crime.
• Sit near the front, closer to the driver.
• If someone hassles you,  loudly say, “Leave me alone!” Don’t be embarrassed to do so.

• Map your own route during the ride – This is especially important if you’re in a different city and aren’t familiar with the route. By monitoring your own GPS navigation, you’ll see if the driver is leading you astray.
• Don’t share private information with your driver – This includes your personal phone number. The Uber app automatically encrypts both the driver’s number and the passenger’s digits to protect both sides’ privacy. You should never share credit card info with the driver. All Lyft and Uber fares are paid through the app, and tips can be added there, too.
• Ride in the back seat – If you’re the only passenger in the car, riding in the back seat gives both the passenger and driver more personal space. It also ensures you’re able to get out on either side to avoid traffic.
• Tell a friend where you’re going and who you’re with – Both Lyft and Uber let you quickly and easily share who your driver is, where you’re going and when you’re supposed to get there. The “share status” option in the Uber app gives your friend your driver’s name, photo, license plate and location. Your friend can then track your trip and see your estimated time of arrival — even if he or she doesn’t have the app. The “send ETA” feature on the Lyft app is very similar. It sends a text to your friend with details about the car, the driver and how far along you are on the route.

Check out Uber’s Safety tips video:

• Prior to exiting the safe surroundings of the store or building, make sure that you visibly scan the parking lot and exterior of the location for anyone loitering or suspicious.
• If you discover someone is following you, go back in the store or building.
• Keep your cell phone close by should you need to dial 911.
• Intentionally set off your car’s alarm to purposely draw attention to yourself.
• When you arrive at your vehicle, store your packages and enter your vehicle. Then, immediately lock your doors, put on your seat belt, and exit the parking lot.
• You should always park a car under lights, if possible. Someone who’s up to no good won’t lurk around a car in a well-lit area. When getting into your parked car at night in a dark spot, be ready for anything. While unlocking the car with one hand, keep another hand on a mace dispenser or some sort of pocket-sized weapon.
• As you start to travel home, keep constant vigil to make sure that no one is following you home, especially if you have just patronized an ATM or left a bank.

• Tell people what is happening to you. Put your embarrassment aside. Making you feel afraid, alone, or crazy is what the stalker wants. You are not alone! Reach out.
• Report the activity to your local police. Even if they can’t help, you need to have a paper trail.
• Send a clear message to the person that the relationship is over. Do not be ambivalent.
• Attempt to avoid all contact with the stalker. Unless there is a physical threat, ignore all contact. Don’t let your guard down, but don’t engage.
• Keep an accurate journal of all incidents, including the date and time they occur. This includes sighting the stalker, making contact, phone calls, written correspondence, and unusual incidents that may be connected.
• Don’t throw away or delete evidence. Keep all related letters, packages, and recorded phone messages.
• Trace all phone calls per telephone company instructions.
• Inform people about what is going on: your family, friends, neighbors, management, co-workers, and workplace security. Have them notify you, or the police, if they are contacted by or followed by the stalker.
• Be careful about your surroundings when you’re alone. Keep some type of personal protection on you, such as mace or pepper spray. Take self defense classes. Doing so will help you regain your confidence and take your power back.

Know the hand signal for help (see diagram below.) It works! A young lady recently used this in a moving car and another driver was able to call 911 for help and rescue her.